"Guwaala-y": a Gomeroi word to talk to each other

"Guwaala-y": a Gomeroi word to talk to each other is a session for School Leaders from PETAA's 2021 Leading with Literacy Conference: Powerful Practices for all Learners, and is presented by Catherine Trindall and Narelle Daniels. 

About the presenters: Catherine Trindall is a Gomeroi woman with more than 30 years of experience working in Aboriginal education in NSW. She has been awarded the highest of recognition by the NSW AECG when she was formally inducted as an NSW AECG Life Member in 2018. She began her work in education in 1985 as the first Aboriginal Teaching Assistant in Tamworth. Catherine has extensively taught both in the city, rural and remote areas of NSW, where she has held many roles and positions across the Department of Education.
Narelle Daniels is a Murramurang-Yuin woman who grew up in La Perouse (Guriwal). She is currently on a leave of absence from teaching to be the Curriculum Officer in the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Inc. Secretariat, where she is working on linking Aboriginal content between the current NESA Curriculum and the NSW AECG PL and cultural content offered currently.

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• Undertake a journey of listening, learning, sharing and understanding narrative from an Aboriginal viewpoint.
• Examine the importance of narratives for making cultural connections. 
• Learn ways to embed Aboriginal content and curriculum into schools and classrooms.

In this session, Catherine Trindall and Narelle Daniels show us the work of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and provide their best tips for supporting First Nations students in the classroom. 

Catherine starts off the session by telling us that the vision of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group is that all Aboriginal students and community members receive access to a fair, just, and rightful education, and receive this education from educators and trainers who are culturally educated and informed. 

She goes on to explain that supporting Aboriginal students’ voices and having their ideas and opinions considered establishes a student’s sense of belonging, positive relationships with teachers and peers, and acknowledges their diverse and unique cultural identity. 

Narelle then presents her tips for supporting these students in our own classrooms. First, she suggests that school leaders find ways to embed Aboriginal knowledge and content into their curriculum and school contexts, but to find a way to do so that is sustainable and not tokenistic. 

Her second key tip is “Don't offer students learned helplessness”.

While this may seem obvious,  she says it is often accidental. We can avoid this trap when we set high expectations, leave our bias at the front gate, and get to know every student as individuals. 

She also tells us that each Aboriginal child has their own experiences with their Aboriginality and culture -- allow them to express this. And, if a student expresses their identity and opinion in ways that challenge your thinking about their identity, be readily prepared to change your thinking. 

They conclude the presentation by sharing a poem written by a young Aboriginal girl when she was walking on Country, “Walking Amongst the Trees” by Nancy Murray, from maar bidi: next generation black writing. Narelle says “I think this expresses how we all feel on Country in the best way possible.” 

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